Everyday sexism isn’t too bad among my friends but most people make some gendered assumptions. For example, if you want the number for my electrician, plasterer or decorator, please be careful with your pronouns.
Vanessa Huxford is a superb electrician who has worked for me before. She helped me plan the ground floor power and lighting, she put up with my amateurish sketches, she fitted around my timings, she told me everything would be ok and she kept costs down wherever possible. She also sent a bloke round (the lovely if not-very-talkative Cris) to do much of the work, but that’s OK because he did a great job. He really thought everything through, for example understanding how I would use the space in order to position the lighting just right.
Amanda did my plastering, again calling in others to work with her as necessary. A friend of mine was sceptical that a woman plasterer would be built enough in the biceps department to do the physically tough job of plastering walls and ceilings but Amanda smashed it with a combination of her brawn and brains. The results were seriously impressive and a pleasure to paint.
And my friend and right-hand-woman Michelle decorated throughout the house, helped out time and time again, and generally kept me sane. She isn’t really a decorator by trade, but my goodness she’s a good one.
